


Before The End (More Than Just Surviving Prequel)

by Smish



Series: More Than Just Surviving [1]
Category: FTWD - Fandom, QTWD, queer the walking dead, the 100/Fear the Walking Dead
Genre: Alicia Clark - Freeform, Alicia Lex, BAMF Elyza Lex, Clexa, Elyza Clark, F/F, Inspired by The Walking Dead, Lex Saves Clark, Protective Lex, Queer the walking dead - Freeform, Slow Burn, alicia clark x elyza lex, alicia x elyza, elyza lex - Freeform, lexark, lexarke - Freeform, qtwd - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-08-10 20:19:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7859755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smish/pseuds/Smish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elyza Lex, a young Australian having gone out on her own in Los Angeles, California, struggles to find a way to manage while keeping true to herself. But her adventures let her meet new people and take her to new places.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where It All Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I know I said that I would release this like a month ago, but I have been through a lot recently and this isn't the place. I just thank you all for being patient with me.
> 
> Enjoy the promised prequel to my ongoing series, More Than Just Surviving. I hope that I do the characters justice. I have already thought this one through and know where I want it to end and how it will get there. Enjoy.

Another hot day in California, gorgeous with a cooling wind but hot nonetheless. It had cooled quite considerably however. The night brought with it a cool breeze and dramatic lighting. It also pulled out the craziest of people to frolick in the night life. Teens mostly, but some were adults looking for a quick score with the younger crowd. It was depressing really, watching them scour the crowd at a pub. One man, probably in his forties or early fifties, had managed to get drunk enough to dance the robot, something so embarrassing that the crowd had actually taken a step back to give him room. At some point he had gone from doing the robot to swinging widely with complete disregard for anyone that was near.

Elyza had abandoned the pub for a late night club. A part of her thought that the guy at the door was starting to second guess her age. The music wasn’t as bad here, making it more tolerable. The fact that this was easier to handle than the pub music said nothing about her. There were a lot more people of course, especially since it was a Friday night and everyone wanted to party. Elyza just wanted a drink. The people here were younger, more her age or just a bit older. Again, that meant nothing. Afterall, she had used a fake identity to sneak past the bouncer and snag a drink from the bartender.

Miraculously, she had even managed to grab a stool at the bar, a feat accomplished by only a few lucky patrons. Elyza had turned in her stool enough to watch the people on the dance floor, holding her drink in her hand. By hour two, the music had become a headache and Elyza had drained her second bottle. Instead of asking for a third, she sat and waited for a while, just watching with a near empty bottle in her hand.

“Hey there.”

It was a guy with a plain colored tee shirt and plain pants, work boots that had clearly never been used for work or anything other than walking down a grimy L.A. street. He was a little too clean cut for Elyza. He was shaved to perfection and had more recently had a hair cut. The cologne he was wearing stuck out a little too much amongst the other scents of the club which was both a relief and a pain to the nostrils. What was a dead give away was the group just beyond him.

Just over the man’s shoulder stood three others, all similarly dressed down, all with similar styles, all clearly trying too hard to get laid. They held themselves the same way, above the other men that were on the dance floor or the ones that just stood around talking without interest for anything physical. They wanted something that she wasn’t giving out.

To their unknowing dismay, they were all about to find that out. Or, more specifically, the guy in front of her was about to learn.

“You want to dance?” His eyes were dark and hungry, a sad and terrifying combination.

Elyza swirled what was left in the bottle, not quite ready to finish it. The benefit of holding an almost empty bottle was that people enjoyed buying her drinks. If she spun it just right, then maybe her would do the same. “You aren’t really my type.”

“Oh, come on, love.” He leaned closer, his cologne and the alcohol on his breath smothering Elyza’s sense of smell and almost making her eyes water. He bit his bottom lip, as if that was attractive. “I swear I don’t bite. Not unless you want me to.”

What made it worse was that this guy was clearly not British or Australian. He was a young adult American that was trying to imitate the language of a culture that he knew nothing about. On top of that, he was rich. He wore a silver chain around his neck, not quite long enough to present stereotypical gangster status but stupid enough to make him seem like an even bigger ass than she had already pegged him for. It wasn’t just the chain though. He wore a thick and incredibly expensive watch on his left wrist that couldn’t have been a gift. Everything else about him was clean and simple.

“Not on your life.” Elyza went back to watching the crowd members bump, grind, and flail on the dance floor.

“At least tell me where you’re from,” he stepped in front of her, blocking her view and her escape. With a sharp glance, Elyza looked to the crowd of his friends, all of whom were staring and smiling, looking away when she caught their eyes.

Elyza had hardly said enough to give away her accent. Instead she dropped into an American one, something she had practiced since moving here. “Look, kid, I'm not really looking for a dance partner and, if I was, I wouldn't pick you. So, I suggest you back off before I break your nose.”

He stared for a moment then a slow smile spread over his face. “Whoa. Feisty. I like that.” Elyza glared before she stood fast, pushing past him with a hard jab to the shoulder. He grunted but turned and grabbed her arm. “Wait, hold on. At least let me buy you a drink.”

“Fuck off, asshole.” Elyza growled, her American accent unwavering as she pulled her arm from his grip. A part of her was tempted to swing the beer bottle against the side of his head, but she held it together long enough to snake her way around to the opposite side of the bar, the side farthest from him.

Elyza was just enjoying the music now, almost instantly forgetting her encounter with a kid that was clearly not old enough to drink. She squeezed a seat away from someone who had stood to dance and gotten another drink to satisfy her. There was a slight buzz with her few infrequent sips, but no blackout; no utter intoxication like many of the people here. She managed to hold a steady conversation with the male bartender, who seemed oddly more interested in talking to her than helping everyone else, maybe because they were drunk beyond all comprehension. He was nice but, again, not Elyza’s type.

The blonde just took the infrequent buzz in stride, looking around the club again as people bumped and grinded over one another. It was almost disgusting but admirable for those who were trying to be a little more outgoing, less so for those that were coming across as just plain old desperate. There was a difference too. One was jumping from one guy to another while the other was trying to blend into the background without fading entirely into the ether.

Elyza felt like a mix of the two. Her outgoing personality was all but snuffed out by the unwanted testosterone in the building and her antisocial half was wishing she could just get up and leave. The latter seemed like it was the the more entertaining option, even if she had to suffer through another series of buzzed flirtations.

A drink slid in front of her then, a refill on the same one she had been sipping for the past half hour. Her eyes narrowed and the brunette behind the bar made a face.

“It’s from your admirer.” She didn’t seem so enthused by the thought yet nodded towards the direction Elyza had just walked away from. Curiosity got the best of her and she looked, only to see the same man from earlier standing with his friends but picking her out of the crowd; smiling, raising his beer.

Elyza let a sound akin to a growl, reverberated in her throat, accompanied by her rolling her eyes. The bartender leaned forward on the bar top during a lull in the music. “I don’t blame you, hun. He’s a regular, always in here trying to pick up the new ones. Let me know if he starts bothering you.”

She gave a reassuring nod and smirk then slid away to the next patron that was drunkenly calling out for a refill. She didn’t seem to excited to be working on a busy Friday night, presumably because she was feeding into the drunken crowd yet again.

The blonde rubbed her thumb over the top of the new open bottle entirely certain that the man had never touched the glass container, but having already decided not to ingest it. So, she glanced back up the the smirking man whose friends were now watching her as well, eagerness or glazed looks mixed between the group. She pushed the bottle away until it reached the edge of the counter top, not quite touching the rubber lining on the far side. The group either laughed, “awed,” or “oohed” their friend who seemed disappointed as Elyza turned away, no longer paying him any mind.

She turned out to the crowd again, watching them dance and bob and weave, doing things that she wasn’t quite sure could be considered dancing. Just a lot of odd body movements that couldn’t be described. It was when her vision was almost entirely blocked by the same towering man that her muscles tensed and her scowl deepened.

“Would it make you feel better if I took a sip of it first?” The guy reached for the drink that he had ordered for her, taking a sip and swallowing slowly then tilting the bottle towards her.

For a moment, she waited for him to collapse in case he did somehow manage to get his hands on the bottle before the bartender passed it along. After about a minute of just staring, nothing happened but she still didn’t take it. She looked over the bartop, partially in hopes to get the attention of the bartender who was serving a series people opposite her, but also in an attempt to ignore the man once again.

“Oh, come on,” he leaned closer, mostly on the counter top. “You’re not even the slightest bit interested?”

Elyza rolled her eyes and said, in her best American accent, “You really aren’t my type, lover boy.”

He pouted, a strange expression on such a chiseled face. Elyza felt his hand heavily land on the back of her chair and her spine stiffened, fingers curling towards her palms. He was trying; trying too hard. “Won’t even give it a try?”

His eyes were too kind, the stench of alcohol on his breath hinting at why that was.But there was something else too. Arrogance? No, that much was already obvious. This was something else. It definitely was his persistence. That was something that Elyza had been long since fed up with.

Elyza’s voice grew cold, dry. “Not even if you got on you knees and begged.”

There was a snort from the man on the chair behind the guy who had clearly been listening in, smiling as he took a long gulp from his mug. But the ever persistent moron in front of her bad a bad reaction immediately reacted badly to her comment.

“Who the hell do you think you are, girl?”

The shiver that raced down Elyza’s spine at the matching cold in his voice was overwhelming. Instinct had put her on her feet. She had talked her way out of scenarios like this before. She knew just what to say to say to-

“Hey, there you are.”

The petite showdown had nearly deflated in that instant.

“Uhh, this is you, right? I don’t want to look like an ass by intruding on… well, whatever this is.”

The high pitched voice belonged to a taller woman, a dirty blonde, someone that was stunning. She had weaseled her way in between the two of them, pushing her shoulder more towards the nuisance of the two. She was holding up her phone towards Elyza, a glowing light in the darkness. A picture of some obscure blonde with hair covering her face with just a few words on her screen.

Just go with it.

The new woman turned on the man, agitation in her voice. Elyza was left trying to rid her vision of the glowing screen that was in her face a moment before. “You are swinging in the wrong direction, man.” He looked like he was about to retaliate but she continued. “If you didn’t hear ‘no,’ throughout the entirety of that-” she waved her hand “-whatever, maybe you should go back to your friends and have them explain it to you.”

She turned away from him, back to Elyza who, despite being mildly annoyed at the fact that this woman had just come to her rescue when she was perfectly capable of defending herself, couldn’t find the right word to start the conversation, or argument with her.

“Do you want to go somewhere less… loud?” The woman looked out towards the exit, already pulling her wallet from her jacket and dropping some money, covering it with the old, empty bottle. She had already stepped away from the countertop as she shoved her wallet back into her pocket.

The man that she had just blocked, looked between the two of them, focusing more on Elyza. But Elyza was watching the woman, who turned with a smirk on her lips.

“Coming?”


	2. New Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elyza's new companion seems a little off as she gets to know her. The new girl seems to have her own assumptions but keeps them to herself. Elyza, however, thinks her companion may have the potential of a serial killer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone have any guesses on who The 100 parallel for this girl is?
> 
> I planned this to be just five chapters but it seems like it may progress further than that. I will put up a "final chapter" that explains this story, the relation between it and the other story. The characters and how the originals translate to this may need some extra explaining. As it progresses, just leave your questions below and I will address them later on.

“I didn’t need saving.” Elyza started.

“No. You looked like you could handle yourself.” This mysterious girl was fast to talk, nearly mind reading at this speed. When she kicked a large chunk of concrete she smiled at the blonde to reveal a set of incredibly white teeth. “Besides I needed a reason to talk to you.”

She was so incredibly smooth for a stranger.

“But I-”

“Didn’t need saving.” She mimicked with another smile.

Elyza studied her for a moment, the way she walked, the way she held herself. She shifted back and forth between a damn near perfect posture and a jaunty stroll. Her outfit was tight; black stretchy jeans that could be classified as a second skin, maroon tank top that was almost tight enough to show her belly button, but a jacket that covered her shoulders. There was something else though. Her outfit didn’t match the way she held herself. It was like she was wearing someone else’s skin.

“Hold on.” Elyza stopped in her tracks. Her companion took a few more stops before turning back to her with raised brows. “I never actually caught your name.”

She held her hand out. “Ana. With one ‘N.’”

The way Ana said it was almost adorable. It made Elyza involuntarily smirk which she stopped by biting her lip. Yet she still took her hand. “Elyza. With a ‘y.’”

Ana waved down the street and the two of them walked side by side.

It was curiosity that kept Elyza by this girl’s side. Aside from the fact that she was kind of cute. Her personality was tough but light hearted. It matched her body language and her tone. Despite all of that, she was still mysterious. The blonde wanted to know more about her.

Ana half stumbled on a shifting piece of concrete, bumping into Elyza’s shoulder but recovered quickly. “Oh, I’m not a serial killer, by the way. I promise.”

“Hmm, yeah, that sounds like something that a serial killer would say.” Elyza furrowed her brow.

“I promised.” It was Ana’s only defense aside from a cute little expression she made.

Elyza mocked, “It has yet to be seen.”

Her tone dropped to almost seductive when she purposefully bumped Elyza;s shoulder this time. “You are more than welcome to search me for a weapon. You know, if that will make you feel more comfortable.”

The blonde couldn’t tell if her companion was serious or just joking. The more she talked the more curious she became. It was like falling down the rabbit hole. Reality being that semi-shitty club and Alice’s journey starting here. If that were the case, then reality sucked and the escape was starting off a little shotty at best.

Something crossed her mind, something that Ana had said. “You needed a reason to talk to me?”

“Damn. I was really hoping I had said that in my head.” Ana hid her face behind the corner of her hood, barely looking at Elyza. She bit her lip as she shoved her hands in her jacket.

“No such luck.” Elyza smiled.

An expensive car zoomed passed them on the street, knocking Ana’s blush off of her cheeks. It swung around in the four way intersection a few blocks up, spinning again and again. The tire made a squealing noise whilst the engine roared repeatedly. Until, that is, red and blue lights lit up from a branching side street. The car took off and sirens followed.

That little distraction gave Ana enough time to compose herself.

“Most super attractive girls don’t sit by themselves unless they want to attract guys.” Ana watched as Elyza’s cheeks lit up bright pink beneath a passing street light, similar to the lights of that police car. Ana shrugged then kicked another piece of concrete. “Plus, assholes are a great conversation starter… Uh… I mean asshole people.”

Elyza laughed at that, not just the comment but the defense that she was trying to pose. “So you faked a date?”

They were both laughing although Ana was trying to keep her face solid and the pink from warming her whole face. She was trying hard not to look Elyza in the eye but it was the opposite for the blonde. 

“Alright, so I happen to like going there on weekends. I have probably seen those guys ask out every girl in that place and you are one of two that has ever turned them down. I took a wild guess.” Ana shrugged stopping at a four way intersection, waiting for the light to change. The blonde still stayed with her, fascinated.

It was the truth after all. Ana had watched dozens of women walk through there on weeknights and weekends, all of the guys in that group asking out just about every female they saw. That small group of guys happened to frequent that place as well. Friday nights in particular. It was like a little ‘bro’ spot for them. Whenever they saw someone they could ask out, they took their chances and strolled up, either setting her up for the next guy or somehow managing to her for himself. They had a system, one that Ana had studied.

Elyza decided to poke a little fun. “Who was the other one?”

“Me.”

Ana had already stepped into the street, just as the light signalled. There were a few more fancy cars lined up as they waited. Elyza had to take a few fast steps to catch up. She only caught up on the opposite sidewalk.

She hadn’t intended for it to be so, but her voice made the word sound incredulous. “You?”

Ana had somehow managed to compose herself enough to go back to the way that she had been in the club. Stoic and all around badass in a sweet kind of way. There was also the caution, cemented like a firm foundation on her face. Her eyes flickered around as if keeping an eye out for danger.

“Not my type.” Ana shrugged. She caught a glimpse of Elyza’s disbelief. “What?”

“Really?”

“Girls are prettier.” She thought for a moment. “And smell nicer.”

She speaks the truth, Elyza thought. She tried to think back to the one and only guy that she had dated. It was a couple of years ago but she sometimes she could still smell the cologne that he bathed in. It was like dating an ape that didn’t bathe but took an immeasurable pride in how other people saw him.

“True.” A small piece of Elyza was still hung up on the fact that this girl had just waltzed into her life and practically assumed command. It had usually been Elyza that took the lead. “So, where exactly are we going?”

The girl made a face then stopped on the LA street, grabbing Elyza’s arm. They had stopped beneath a streetlight just about quite a ways from the club. Ana spun in a fast circle, getting a lay of the land. The street signs all looked familiar but the buildings seemed to have changed shape and form in the dark. She needed to look at a real map to get her bearings.

“Not sure.” Ana spun in another fast circle. “But I can tell you where we aren’t.”

“We only walked about six blocks.” The blonde continued following, not entirely sure if it was the best idea now that she knew her companion was directionally challenged.

Ana met her eyes, a defense already prepared since admitting the truth was a little more rough than a lie. “I know the club not the streets around the club. I can call an Uber if you want to go somewhere.”

Elyza wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. Ana wasn’t even paying attention anymore. Her eyes were glued to her phone, typing vigorously for a moment.

“At the risk of sounding a little too forward, you can come back to my house.” Ana held up her hands, slowing her pace. “It takes ten minutes for the nearest Uber to get to that market up the street.” She pointed to a tall, well light sign up the street. “Totally up to you.”

It may have just been because she was a little buzzed front her few drinks, but she genuinely considered it. Maybe it was because Ana reminded her nothing of her foster family - families. Despite her slight eraticism. She was human, real. Whatever it was about her, Elyza wanted to know more.

Yet, Elyza couldn’t quell that curiosity. “So, you have ten minutes to convince me.”

Ana’s eyes lit up and she bit her lower lip.

“What is so special about that club that makes you go back?” The blonde just watched the furrowing of her brow.

“Call it boredom.” A little shuffle and Ana shoved her phone back into her pocket. “It’s really the only place that provides any sort of entertainment on the weekends.”

“So, you go to people watch?”

“Mostly for the drinks. I want to get a few more uses out of my fake ID.”

That was probably the most relatable thing that Ana had said so far. Going for drinks meant that she wanted to escape. Elyza understood that.

The blonde had a dozen reasons to escape. Only one that she wanted to think about. For starters, she had just run away from her foster family - again. This time she was old enough to be considered an adult, meaning she had about a day before the family could call the cops and search for her. Unless they were like the last one and didn’t care at all. She still had two hundred dollars in her pocket, which would have to be enough.

Ana grabbed a sign pole and swung around it. Still, she didn’t slow the pace. “So, why exactly were you sitting by yourself?”

The market was slowly getting closer. Again, Elyza thought about everything that she was trying not to think about. She preferred to keep all of that garbage behind her. This was supposed to be her last fun night out before she went out on her own.

Elyza bumped Ana’s shoulder, both by accident and on purpose. Her subconscious was yearning for human touch, an ear to listen. But no part of her wanted to tell the truth. “Just a night out on the town. Have a few drinks, meet some new people.”

“Am I new enough?” Ana turned so that she was walking backwards, a smile on her face.

“You…” Elyza didn’t need to think about it but paused for dramatic effect. “You are definitely something.”

The girl’s cheeks flushed pink again as she stumbled, turning fast to right herself. “I- I uh- I don’t know how to respond to that.”

It may have just been the fading buzz, but Ana was trying her hardest to keep the smile off of her face. Elyza just watched her try to contain it for half a block. She smiled in response, warming up to the girl by her side.

“Do you invite strangers over your house a lot?” 

“Only when they have cute Australian accents.” Ana debated linking her elbow through the blonde’s but didn’t want to push her luck. “It may also help that I pissed off my ride to the club and potentially lost all of my friends.”

Elyza laughed, covering her mouth as she did. “Oh, that’s rough.”

They reached the market parking lot. Ana stopped beneath a streetlight, Elyza following her lead. The girl’s features were more noticeable now but she continued to hide her face. A part of her was intimidated by her beauty. Instead, she kept her head tilted down to keep the shadow across her face.

Ana spun her phone in her fingers just inside her jacket pocket. “It’s fine. In case you haven’t noticed, I am really good at making people mad.”

“They all just ditched you?”

Ana’s dark blonde hair shifted away from her face for a moment as she looked to the street. “They deserved what I said. Unfortunately, they were drinking a lot, probably won’t even remember it.”

A car pulled up just then. It was a silver Lincoln, the newest model. It looked too expensive to be an Uber but had the sticker pressed in the window. The man driving was a older than the two of them, maybe just about ten years so. He saw the two of them and smiled. It made Elyza uncomfortable.

Ana seemed to be the opposite. She smiled, intentionally not bending down to the rolled down window. There was no way that she was going to make herself look like a streetwalker. “Hey, Michael.”

“How’s it going, Ana? What happened to your usual crowd?” Michael had a sweet voice, one that was strangely welcoming.

“Plastered at some club probably.” Elyza’s companion wasn’t just friendly, she knew this man. “I’m not really feeling up to it tonight.”

Michael smiled and unlocked the car doors. “Fair enough.”

Elyza wasn’t sure what to say, let alone what to think. She stayed on the sidewalk for a moment whilst watching as Ana opened the door and climbed inside. There was still that sense of weariness. 

Ana held out her hand, her eyes glowing in the light. “Come on. I promise I won’t bite.”


End file.
